Father Elmer:
An Ideology of Education
 

As the President of Catholic Central High School, Father Elmer still maintains the same mantra he’s held for the last 50 years. “We want our students to enter as boys, and leave as men.”

The goal at Catholic Central High School is to help students develop a spirit of independence, initiative and confidence, a value system they will have for life.

No one would know better, than Father Dick Elmer.

Growing up in Detroit, he attended Catholic Central HS when it was located on Belmont Ave, their 2nd location for the record. Graduating in 1946, he knew deeply that he had been attracted to the Basilian religious philosophy and the adopted rule of St. Basil. It was a way of life that included daily prayer, mass, camaraderie and mutual respect.

Additionally, he was strongly encouraged by his Basilian teachers to enter the seminary, and immediately after high school he enrolled in the Noviate, which as a novice, was like a first year ‘boot camp.’

He entered the seminary in 1948, and along the way he graduated from St.Michaels College in Toronto in 1952. His first assignment was, you guessed it, at Catholic Central HS where he spent two years as a teacher.

In 1954, he entered school for Theology and was ordained in 1957. Additionally, he earned a Bachelors Degree in Sacred Theology, and later in 1967 he got his Masters Degree in Guidance Counseling from the University of Detroit.

A teacher and mentor at heart, he also became a teacher at the University of St. Michaels in Toronto for three years in 1957.

But, as 1960 rolled around Catholic Central beckoned once more, and between 1960 and 1978, he held multiple roles. During this tenure he was a priest, a guidance Director, and the Director of Athletics. Mentoring such individuals as baseball great Frank Tanana while he was at CC, there is no question that Father Elmer positively impacted a lot of lives.

From 1978-1986 he became the National Convention Director for all Catholic School teachers nationwide, and moved to the Washington D.C. headquarters.

Far from finished, he took his talents to Houston, Texas in 1986, and for (4) years, he was the Dean of Student Services at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

But in 1990, Father Elmer came full circle and returned to Catholic Central HS and for (9) years he served as the Director of Alumni Development, before accepting his current position in 1999, as president of CC.

If in fact the ideological purpose of education is to prepare individuals to more forward, Father Elmer’s simple yet profound philosophies provide a vehicle for young men to do just that.

Although there are significant fees to obtain an education at Catholic Central, Father Elmer is emphatic that ‘students get their money’s worth..’ He is absolutely correct, but he is also humble and objective and agrees that all school systems do a fine job, and all education is highly beneficial, there are just different ways of doing it.

When asked about the most important aspect of education, Father Elmer is concise. “Teach goodness, discipline and knowledge.” And, ‘discipline, is self-discipline, not administered discipline.’

This is a value system and an ideology that lasts a lifetime, as boys grow into men, and the student becomes the teacher.

For the record, Catholic Central HS in Novi now resides in its 4th location, but the ideology and philosophies taught remain timeless and profound.

No one would know better than Father Dick Elmer.